LMS Course Retirement Overview

Who is affected by the Course Retirement process?

All student and instructor users that create and submit content within Blackboard courses. “All users”includes those that are not registered for The University of Alabama degree programs but are enrolled in Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) courses hosted in Blackboard.

What courses will be removed from Blackboard during this process?

• Courses taught prior to, and including, Spring 2023 will be removed beginning August 2025 .

• Non-academic courses, referred to as non-integrated courses, are subject to removal following two (2) years of inactivity.

How do I know which courses will be removed?

• Courses queued for removal will show under the “Courses to be Retired” term on the Courses page. If applicable, use the Terms drop-down menu to view the Course Retirement term.

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What is the timeline for Course Retirement each year?

The course retirement process follows a process beginning in April/May of each year.

Visit the following article for more information: When are Blackboard courses retired?

Why does UA need to remove older courses from Blackboard Learn?

Since 2021, UA has utilized Blackboard SaaS (Software as a Service). Moving to the new hosting option:

• Keeps UA on the most recent release of Blackboard Learn

• Allows for implementing new course layout and tool options

• Prevents extended downtime currently needed for updates and maintenance

System health: Maintaining a system this large makes maintenance, upgrade, and support processes more arduous and potentially more fallible. Users can also face performance and function issues with large course lists.

Privacy and security: New privacy regulations around the world require that user data be kept for specific reasons and that it be removed upon request unless countermanded by a valid reason.

• GDPR information

LMS Design: The LMS is not designed or equipped to be longterm storage. Instructors and students can use UA+Box or One Drive to store course content.

Saving course content

Departments, colleges, or programs may require instructors to save or submit semester grades outside of Blackboard Learn.

• For courses marked Incomplete or pending grade challenges, instructors and students should save important coursework and data outside of Blackboard.

  • This includes any grades or coursework necessary to complete the course or assign a final grade.

  • Time frames for Incompletes are outlined in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs and on the Registrar’s Grade Reporting Page.

  • Time frames for grade challenges or grievances are outlined on the Faculty Handbook’s Grievance Procedure Page.

How do students save course work?

• Students should choose to save anything they may want to access later at the end of each semester. Collect all or some of your submitted work in UA+Box or OneDrive for safe keeping, or save submissions as artifacts you can reference within Blackboard even when courses are no longer available.

• How to Back Up Blackboard Content as a Student

How do instructors save course content?

• There are several methods by which you can back up Blackboard content. The method you select will be determined by the type of content you want to save.

• How to Back Up Blackboard Content as an Instructor

How was the policy developed?

The course content retention policy has existed since 2015-16 when Dr. Marilyn Staffo was Director of the Faculty Resource Center (now the Center for Instructional Technology). It was crafted based on other institutions’ policies and with discussion in the Technology and Learning Committee, which includes faculty representatives from across campus. The course retention policy was approved by Provost Whitaker and was okayed by the Registrar’s Office.

When the FRC (now CIT) initially attempted to implement the policy, there were technical issues with removing courses from the Blackboard Learn system. The technical issues have been resolved.